ἕξ (Ancient Greek)

Where does "ἕξ" come from?

The Greek word ἕξ (hex) traces back to the Proto-Indo-European root *swéḱs. This ancient number traveled through Proto-Hellenic before settling into Greek, while simultaneously branching into related forms across various language families, such as the Latin sex and the English six.

Full etymology tree

• ἕξ (héx) (Ancient Greek), 'six'
  • inherited *hwéks (Proto-Hellenic), 'six'
    • inherited *swéḱs (Proto-Indo-European), 'six'
      • inherited *wéḱs (Proto-Indo-European)
      • inherited *séḱs (Proto-Indo-European)
    • influence *septḿ̥ (Proto-Indo-European), 'seven'

Ancestors

• *hwéks (Proto-Hellenic)
• *swéḱs (Proto-Indo-European)

Cognates and doublets

• six (English)
• sex (Latin)
• վեց (Old Armenian)
• six (Old English)
• षष् (Sanskrit)

Descendants and derived words

• exa- (English)
• έξι (Greek)
• ἑξακόσιοι (Ancient Greek)
• ἑξῆμαρ (Ancient Greek)
• hexa- (English)
• экс (Mariupol Greek)

Updated July 2026

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Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris